Trade

Question 1

Government Debt

Answer 1

The total amount of money owed by the government expressed as a proportion of GDP, a standard measure of the size of the economy.

Question 2

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Answer 2

The monetary value of all the services & finished goods produced by a country, usually calculated & expressed over a year.

Question 3

Protectionism

Answer 3

Taxes or prohibitions on imports & exports designed to protect domestic producers.

Question 4

Mercantilism

Answer 4

A policy of government intervention to ensure that the value of exports is more than the value of imports, known as a positive balance of trade.

Question 5

Free Trade

Answer 5

An alternative system to mercantilism whereby import & export taxes are minimised to allow merchants to compete across borders. The removal of restrictions favours merchants who can produce the cheapest goods, but risks driving others out of business.

Question 6

Manufactured goods

Answer 6

Items that have had value added through some form of processing. Imperial trade often aimed to import raw materials, such as sugar & cotton, from colonies & then export manufactured goods like rum & cloth.

Question 7

Geopolitics

Answer 7

The idea that power comes from territorial dominance of strategic areas. This became increasingly prevalent in imperial thinking, for example the perceived need to control Egypt to safeguard imperial possessions in India.

Question 8

Scramble for Africa

Answer 8

A period of rapid expansion (1881-1914) during which European powers divided & then colonised almost the entire continent of Africa.